Leaving headlights on all the time...

The OEM lights have auto-off, and it is customizable for 0 to 90 seconds. As best I know, it is reliable. If the aftermarket lights were wired into the OEM system correctly, they ought to be just fine.

 

Two possible down sides:
Having the actual headlights ON all the time will also have the tail lights ON all the time. Makes seeing the brake lights come on just a tiny bit more iffy.
The headlight bulbs have a limited life span. Having them ON all the time might make them burn out a lot sooner than you want.
OK, three:
HIDs run hot; often hotter than the stock bulbs. You might want to check the housings a time or two after they have been on in the daytime heat for a few hours.

I don't know what Toyota has against equipping their vehicles with auto-on headlights.
I just got a new C. It has a backup camera and some other new electronic gadgets, including auto DIMMING headlights........but I still have to turn them ON manually. ???????

 

[QUOTE Sam Spade
I don't know what Toyota has against equipping their vehicles with auto-on headlights.
I just got a new C. It has a backup camera and some other new electronic gadgets, including auto DIMMING headlights........but I still have to turn them ON manually. ???????[/QUOTE]

Does your new C not have the "Auto" setting on the light stalk? The headlights on my Three model will switch from daytime running lights, to full-on headlights in low light conditions. There is also a sensitivity adjustment. I thought all Prius were the same.

 

I run headlights all the time, every 5000 miles my mechanic turns them off and I turn them back on. <G>

They automatically turn off after you open the driver side door after you power down the car. Should you open the door before you power down, the timer may not be set. I use a delay of 0 so I notice. On the v, it is worded as off.

 

I like that feature in your v. Mine will stay on a minimum of 30 seconds after powering off, and exiting the vehicle. I'd rather they go off immediately, but no such setting. No problem, I just manually turn them off.

 

Toyota's owners website is acting strangely for me today, so I can't look at the customization part of the 2016 owner's manual. Usually chapter 6 - 2 has the rules and usually only the dealer can set the delay (or someone with a OBDII programmer)

 

Not quite 'auto' headlights, because that would turn the headlights off in daylight. Otherwise, it seems the same.

I ran my '97 Subaru and '10 Prius this way, headlights semi-permanently turned on, and never experienced any meaningful downside. (Maybe the Subaru needed an extra lamp replacement for the extra burn hours. No big deal, it was for a worthwhile function.) My '12 has DRLs, so I now do turn the headlights down to the DRL position when parking for the night, as an energy conservation measure.

I can't speak to any HID-specific impact this might have on a car that did not originally have HIDs.

That would have been a bigger deal before the CHMSL (center high mount stop light) requirement of 1986. That third brake light, never turned on with the regular taillight, lessens the minor impact of this effect.

Your features are probably a Gen4 thing. His 'c' is still really a Gen3, where this was not a standard feature.

 

Why drive around with your lights on during the day? You have the option to use your LED DRLs, which are under your turn signals in your bumper, not above your headlights. There should be the option to select the option to have them on under the Setup menu on your multi function display. Check your user manual.

It sounds like you didn't wire your HIDs using a relay harness, but connected directly to the factory headlight connectors. The ballasts require quite a bit of power to initialize when turning on the HID lights at startup. This could be a problem, at Startup, the vehicle initializes many different ECUs and electronic modules, all being initialized from the current supplied by your tiny 12v auxiliary battery. Waiting till the DC to DC inverter is online and supplying power when in Ready Mode before turning on any lights is better, IMO.

 

right on the first one, not so sure on the second. I customized mine to 0 seconds (I hate to discharge battery for no good reason, 7 years and still strong), but last time it failed to turn light off when i turned the car off. I had to do do it manually.

 

This feature has been in place many years, and I haven't yet seen anything close to a critical mass of reports indicating a pattern of failure. The reports remain scarce enough to easily attribute to a mix of user error and individual unit failure.

 

No it does not. I just went out an looked to be sure.
It also (still) does not have a dome light for the back seat.

 

I wonder why the many inconsistencies among the Prius models. It seems that a pretty simple thing like headlight function, would be standard across all models? I mistakenly thought that all Prii had auto on/off function. Especially the newer models.

 

I tested mine again today. I powered off, opened and closed the door, and the headlights stayed on for 30 seconds+ before going out. This is referring to the headlights being in the "full-on" position on the light stalk.

When I have the light stalk turned to the "auto/DRL" position, the DRLs will go off immediately after powering off.

Now I've gotten in the habit of just doing everything manually. That's fine. Less confusion.

 

It used to be one of many options put into upper trim packages to entice people to spend more money. The feature continues to filter down to cheaper levels but isn't all the way to the 'budget' trims yet.

Not even all the 2017 Gen4s have it. It is absent from the MY2017 One and Two Liftbacks and Prime Plus.

Sam's 'c' is still a Gen3, where more Prius versions lack this feature compared to Gen4.

 

I don't like the auto option because it turns on in my garage then off when I leave and I don't want the quick on/off on my ballast.

That said I use the lights manually anyway because I like the led drl and running lights on. Sometimes when I get home they don't turn off after I lock the car. I had a few dead batteries "matters" because I didn't think of it. It happened tonight with my headlights actually. I got out, locked the car and the lights stayed on for over 2 minutes while I waited.

 

Yeah our 2010 has auto off/on headlights function, never use it. It's physically impossible for me to walk away from a car with headlights blazing.

If it was possible for owner without Techstream to program the off delay to zero, I might consider it. But I'm still opposed: sometimes I want the headlights on, in high congestion daylight traffic, and I believe auto headlights wouldn't do that?

Basically: I want the control, and the automatic function is more of a pain than a help.

 

More OCD based on an irrational fear backed up by no facts.
Cars with that feature have a switch position to turn it off.
Problem solved.

 

??? Whatever happened to the "Learning to drive: Always make sure the lights and other accessories are turned OFF when they're not needed!" school of thought?
I file all these extra whizz-bangs such as auto-dimming rear-view mirrors, auto-switching-off headlights, rain-detecting windscreen wipers and other gewgaws in the same category as auto-butt-wiping toilet paper, and automatic nose-pickers! C'mon, folks, when I drive my car, I want to have total control of all the major functions! Sheeesh!!!